My final day in service was also Lt Cdr London's. I had just put the Op Fresco fire fighting det at Brampton to bed and returned to Wittering that morning when the crash alarm went; we were practically first there, my senses are still vivid with the shocking suddenness and violence of the event. I remember a young female LAC photog shaking and crying her eyes out but soldiering on because someone said that is what someone with his sense of professionalism would have wanted. I remember there was talk that Lt Cdr London stayed with the jet as it took off, allowing the student (?) to eject but thereby reducing his chances of survival to zero as the aeroplane rolled (out of trim?) towards the ground. The other pilot landed in the field just outside the wire I think. I started 12 months leave later that day - no beer, no celebrations.. who could possibly feel anything other than complete sadness? Universally, no one had a bad word to say about Lt Cdr London - whenever I very occasionaly saw him in Ops or taking a short cut through the section, he seemed 'just' a genuinely nice guy and his professional reputation of course, was beyond compare. An awful day.